This invention relates to the packaging of articles for shipping or storage and more particularly to the construction of boxes wherein contained articles are cushioned for protection against external forces that may be exerted against the box.
Articles which are packaged in a box for shipping or storage are often protected by a shock absorbent material which isolates the article from the walls of the box. The shock absorbent material has been of various forms such as, for example, loose granules of compressible plastic foam or sheets of plastic which form arrays of air filled bubbles. In other cases, separable blocks of compressible foamed plastic material are used to support the contained article within the box. Inflatable liner inserts have also been used for this purpose.
Boxes for packaging manufactured articles are usually not shipped to the factory in assembled form. Large numbers of assembled boxes would be extremely bulky. Rather, the boxes are initially flat panels of corrugated cardboard or other box material which are marked with fold lines that enable the box to be folded into a box configuration as part of the article packaging operation at the factory. A stack of the flat panels is much easier to transport and store than an equivalent number of assembled boxes.
Prior shock absorbent linings including inflatable liners are added to the box after it has been assembled from the initially flat panel. This additional step is a significant complication of the packaging process which adds to the cost of the process. Prior methods of cushioning packaged articles can also complicate opening the box and removal of the article particularly if there are loose granules of shock absorbent material to be disposed of.
It desirable to reduce the volume of material which is discarded at landfills or other waste disposal sites. Discarded packaging materials form a significant portion of such wastes. Foamed plastic granules or blocks as used for the purposes described above are bulky and remain bulky after being disposed of.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.
In one aspect this invention provides container paneling which is foldable to form a pneumatically padded box. The paneling includes a substantially flat sheet of box material having fold lines demarcated thereon which fold lines define a box bottom region of the sheet and a box top region of the sheet and box side regions of the sheet. An array of inflatable air pouches is secured to a face of the flat sheet with air pouches being situated at each of the box bottom, box top and box side regions of the sheet.
In another aspect of the invention, the air pouches are joined to each other and air passages extend between the pouches enabling simultaneous inflation of the pouches after an article has been placed in the assembled and closed box. An air valve communicates with one of the interconnected air pouches and is accessible through an opening in the box material after assembly and closure of the box.
In another aspect, the invention provides an article container comprising a box having top and bottom and side portions each having an inner wall surface facing the interior of the box. The box includes a plurality of inflatable air pouches with at least one of the air pouches being secured to the inner wall surface of each of the top and bottom and side portions of said box. The air pouches are communicated with each other enabling simultaneous inflation and deflation of the pouches. An air valve communicates with one of the pouches and is positioned to be accessible from outside of the box after closing of the box.
The invention enables a simplified and more economical packaging of articles which are to be cushioned against external forces. Folding of flat paneling into a box configuration also folds an array of inflatable air pouches into a configuration which supports and cushions an article or articles in the box. The inflated pouches accommodate to articles of different sizes and shapes. Separate steps for adding cushioning material or a liner to the assembled box are not needed. The air pouches may be deflated when the box is discarded thereby reducing the volume of the discarded material.
The invention, together with further aspects and advantages thereof, may be further understood by reference to the following description of preferred embodiments and by reference to the accompanying drawings.